Are you planning on staying in an Airbnb?

Popular holiday destinations, including; Paris, Amsterdam, Palma and Barcelona, have been clamping down on short-term lets like Airbnb and Home Away to help alleviate impacts of mass tourism on their housing market, which is pricing out locals.

Measures include; ensuring those who are renting out their homes hold the correct licence to completely banning locals from renting their property to tourists.

The latest country to impose restrictions is Valencia, which could mean sought out apartments overlooking the Mediterranean may not be available for tourists to rent for much longer – making finding accommodation more difficult.

On the upside, ensuring that everyone letting a property holds the correct licence will mean increased safety and security for holidaymakers as well as reducing the risk of over-tourism – a growing concern for many countries.

Despite the restrictions, it is still possible to book Airbnb’s in most tourist destinations.

So, what can you do in the event that something goes wrong?

If your chosen holiday accommodation is with a service like Airbnb, always ensure you have purchased the correct travel insurance for this type of holiday.

Booking an Airbnb can be a risk and it is important to note if you arrive at your accommodation to find your ‘luxury leisure suite’ doesn’t exist, this will not be covered under your travel insurance and any refunds would need to be discussed with the provider you booked the accommodation through.

It is also worth noting many travel insurance policies will not offer cover if your mode of transport fails to get you to your destination due to strike action or adverse weather, and you can no longer use the accommodation, thereby losing the money you have already pre-paid.

So, if you are using Airbnb or a similar service, it is worth looking for a travel policy which will offer cover for ‘cancellation due to any cause beyond your reasonable control’. These policies aren’t commonly available, so you may need to spend some time researching and going to the insurer direct.